For the grand 25th anniversary of mine and my twin brother's birth, my favoured option of attending a gig was inevitably taken - for one such London-based band known for tantalisingly merging tropes of dancehall, indie-pop, and art-punk together in their musical canon. Having released their most recent EP and LP both last year, featuring a punkier and more guitar-driven form on the aforementioned genres, I excitedly presented myself with the ultimate present a music fanatic could hope to receive in present day, Kero Kero Bonito in Stratford’s Studio 9294.
Having titillated listeners and garnered a substantial following with their earlier J-Pop-tinged work, perhaps courtesy of British-Japanese frontwoman Sarah Midori Perry, the band drew a 50-odd crowd size which proved impressive for a midweek gig in the East end of London at 4:30 in the afternoon. Having recently been signed to Polyvinyl Records, the band have diverged from these earlier sounds and incorporated some beefier, crunchier guitars throughout their latest singles and thus caught many an ear with reminiscent sounds of bands such as Pixies, My Bloody Valentine, and HMLTD. With this in mind, the renowned Seattle-based radio station KEXP, decidedly chose them to showcase their punkier music in its live format to celebrate the everlasting impact of the seminal act The Clash.
For 30 minutes straight, the band revelled in their effervescent on-stage energy, exuding glitzy pop refrains, crunching grunge-like guitar tones, overlaid with Perry's unique oscillation between singing and rapping. The first track from their latest LP Time ‘n’ Place, ‘Outside’, immediately began the fiery passion of Bonito’s music, displaying Perry’s somewhat-flat vocal delivery in the midst of distorted guitars and poppy synths patterns. Switching between lighter indie-pop and darker art-punk tonalities, Bonito brilliantly covered such a stark variety of genres within their condensed setlist - all the while retaining the attention of the crowd throughout. In spite of the horrifically-mixed vocals, credit must be given to Perry, for suitably wading in and out of singing in English and Japanese as well as delving into her impressive rapping repertoire. This never seemed too flashy or self-infatuated, but rather appropriate to the mood and unpredictable structure of each song.
Whilst this may turn some people off their music, their audacity must be admired and further encouraged for their future set of music - as this sets them apart from their contemporaries, namely HMLTD, Rina Sawayama, and Grimes. You never know what may come your way when listening and watching Kero Kero Bonito. The set from the band was emblematic of the day of my 25th birthday - short and sweet, and that’s all I could have asked for from this exhilarating, up-and-coming band in the U.K's indie-pop / art-punk scene. I’ll certainly be returning for seconds at their headline show at London's Electric Ballroom this May.
7.5/10
Kero Kero Bonito's latest EP, TOTEP, is out now and can be found here.
Tickets for their upcoming show at London's Electric Ballroom are on sale now and can be found here.
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